OGDEN, Utah — The Big Sky Conference has selected the ROOT SPORTS football Players of the Week for games played on Friday, Oct. 5 and Saturday, Oct. 6. Portland State quarterback Kieran McDonagh is the Offensive Player of the Week. Sacramento State linebacker Jeff Badger and Montana linebacker Brock Coyle are the Co-Defensive Players of the Week. Eastern Washington’s Shaquille Hill is the Special Teams Player of the Week.

McDonagh, a 6-foot-1, 240-pound freshman from Vancouver, Wash., threw for 280 yards, rushed for 66 and accounted for six touchdowns in Portland State’s 77-10 victory over Idaho State. McDonagh scored on runs of 26, 11, 2 and 2 yards. He caught a 22-yard touchdown pass and passed for one score. He completed 15-of-23 passes for 280 yards. He accounted for 366 total yards. PSU scored its most points since a 105-0 win over Delaware State in 1980. The Vikings rushed for a school-record 437 yards.

Badger, a 5-11, 225-pound senior from Windsor, Calif., recorded a game-high 12 tackles and had an interception and a sack in the Hornets’ 27-22 road win over Southern Utah. Badger had five solo stops. His interception late in the fourth quarter secured the Sacramento State victory. Badger led a Hornet defense that held the Thunderbirds to just 61 rushing yards and six second-half points.

Coyle, a 6-2, 240-pound junior from Bozeman, Mont., tallied a team-high 11 tackles with a sack, a fumble recovery and two pass breakups in Montana’s 40-17 win over Northern Colorado. Coyle picked up a fumble and returned it 23 yards to set up a Grizzly touchdown. Montana’s allowed 62 rush yards, forced five turnovers, and amassed four sacks.

Hill, a 5-10, 180-pound freshman from Stockton, Calif., returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown to spark Eastern Washington’s 55-17 victory over North Dakota. Hill’s touchdown return gave the Eagles a 20-10 first-quarter lead. Later in the first half, Hill returned a kick 41 yards to set up a touchdown to give the Eagles a 27-10 lead. Hill ranks third in the FCS with an average of 37.33 yards per kick returns. Eastern Washington leads the nation in kick returns with a 31.80 average.

ROOT SPORTS, the official television partner of the Big Sky Conference, will air Saturday’s clash between No. 2 Montana State and No. 6 Eastern Washington from Bozeman, Mont., starting at 1:30 p.m. Mountain.

Others Nominated

OFFENSE

Kirstaan Ivory, SB, Cal Poly

Vernon Adams, QB, Eastern Washington

Luke Austin, WR, Idaho State

Peter Nguyen, RB, Montana

Jameer Jackson, WR, North Dakota

Garrett Safron, QB, Sacramento State

Brad Sorensen, QB, Southern Utah

Anthony Soto, WR, UC Davis

DEFENSE

Barrett Wangara, DT, Cal Poly

Jordan Tonani, DB, Eastern Washington

Taison Manu, DB, Idaho State

Brock Coyle, LB, Montana

Darius Jones, DB, Montana State

Ian Sluss, LB, Portland State

Jeff Badger, LB, Sacramento State

Mike Needham, Southern Utah

Anthony Morales, LB, Weber State

Jordan Glass, LB, UC Davis

SPECIAL TEAMS

Caleb Walden, Montana

Rory Perez, K/P, Montana State

Dominic Gunn, Ret., Northern Colorado

Justin Weldon, P, Sacramento State

Griff McNabb, Ret., Southern Utah

Courtney Williams, Ret., UC Davis

— Big Sky Conference Sports Information